So...To the Lighthouse had to go back to the library too...sad.
To prevent another tragedy, I decided to buy my next book. I picked up Mere Christianity last week. I believe one of the most profound passages appears at the end of the preface.
"I hope no reader will suppose that 'mere' Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions - as if a man could adopt it in preference to Congregationalism or Greek Orthodoxy or anything else. It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is the difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?'"
"When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more, and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. This is one of the rules common to the whole house."
This quote is 394 words long. This exceeds the fair use limit. Oh well. Until someone explains to me the intellectual property laws regarding internet blog posting, it will stay here for you to enjoy.
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2 comments:
I doubt that Lewis would bother much about property laws and he would probably enjoy the fact that you have presented his boiled down, double-distilled view of religion this way because you had been touched by it. I'm glad you're reading this one though...Jon and I have insightful discussions still because of points made by this idealogical man. It always amazing us too how accurate and clear he is...how near he is to real truth...but then, warning, he does veer off at the end there. Don't take it too personally and remember how worthwhile the effort was. There's a reason he's the most quoted non-mormon in the history of the church.
As I've been reading, I've been trying to distinguish what it is that draws us to C.S. Lewis. One thing that seems to stand out above all the others is his use of metaphor to clarify religious principles. You'd be hard pressed to find a page in the whole book without some kind of comparison.
As members of the LDS Church, we feel very comfortable with the teaching style of C.S. Lewis because it is very similar to that of Jesus Christ. Both teachers used situations and objects that were familiar to their students. One of the most difficult tasks that a teacher faces is simplifying a complex and abstract concept so that a child (a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual child) can understand it.
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